Building science finds new ways and materials to make buildings better. It helps them withstand harsh environments by preventing moisture buildup and structural damage, and it improves ventilation and indoor air quality.
The field combines knowledge from physics, chemistry, engineering, and architecture to understand how a building works and why it fails, ideally without compromising the architectural objectives.
Function
During the design process, building science knowledge is used to optimize the energy efficiency and sustainability of buildings. It can also be used to understand or prevent building failures and guide the development of new techniques and technologies.
As the demands of a more sustainable future place increased stress on the built environment, engineers focused on building science are in high demand. They are developing systems to make buildings less susceptible to moisture damage, methods for reducing airborne contaminants and ways to lower a building’s energy consumption.
Whether they are working on a project with the architect at the drafting table or the structural engineer at the construction site, building scientists must be able to understand the interactions of the myriad components that form the completed structure. This is an extremely complex and important skill that can only be learned through a thorough education in the field and a great deal of on-the-job experience.
A comprehensive understanding of the physics involved in building construction is essential for creating great architecture. It’s also a prerequisite for the proper maintenance and renovation of existing buildings. One of the most interesting talks I’ve heard recently was given by a PhD Physicist who works with historic materials to keep buildings that were constructed 10, 50, 100, 500+ years ago in good condition.
Materials
For an architect to be effective, it’s important to understand the properties of materials and how they relate to one another. This is the topic of building science. It also covers construction techniques (for example, what kinds of materials should be used in which parts of a structure and how they are assembled) as well as the properties of existing buildings and their interactions with new products and building systems.
It can also encompass physics (for instance, what kinds of pressures are exerted on various parts of a building, or how heat moves through and cools the different materials that make up a house). There is even chemistry—for example, what kind of chemicals are in brick, wood, insulation, and other materials and how those chemical properties interact.
The discipline of building science is incredibly broad and includes all sorts of technical disciplines, such as civil engineering (which deals with structural issues), geotechnical engineering, soil mechanics, earthquake engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering (for HVAC systems and motors), air quality/biology, and fire code engineering. Building scientists can be found in research institutions, at product manufacturers, and even as consultants. They are responsible for finding ways to improve and integrate the various systems of a structure to better perform, look, and feel. They can make a building resilient to harsh environments and weather, such as freezing climates, high winds, heavy precipitation, and seismic activity.
Energy
The construction, operation and maintenance of buildings represents a significant portion of the world’s gross domestic product. It’s important to have a solid understanding of how buildings are constructed and how they function in order to optimize building performance, prevent failures and ensure their sustainability.
The discipline of building science encompasses several engineering disciplines and includes aspects of physics, chemistry, engineering and architecture. This multifaceted approach allows a building scientist to work with models that represent the whole building as well as individual systems.
Engineers who specialize in this area focus on physical phenomena imposed on materials, components, and assemblies to determine their response or behavior. This entails a comprehensive approach to design that includes the consideration of energy efficiency, occupant comfort and indoor air quality.
The field of building science is broad and includes a myriad of technical areas that can be challenging to master. It requires a strong background in mathematics, science and language courses as well as a desire to be constantly challenged with problem-solving. The ability to understand and communicate with others is also an essential part of building science. Whether you are an architect who wants to better understand how the structures they create perform, a home inspector who needs to recognize potential issues in homes, a financial officer who evaluates mortgages for green features or a government or utility program manager looking to promote innovative building techniques, it is critical to have a solid foundation of understanding the fundamentals of building science.
Occupants
As the field of building science has evolved, it’s increasingly embraced the notion that houses are complex systems. As a result, specialty trades have grown to divvy up construction responsibilities. An electrician installs the bathroom vent fan, a carpenter cuts in the dryer vent, an HVAC contractor puts in the furnace and a plumber puts in the water heater. This network of specialists makes it difficult for anyone to keep an eye on how everything works together.
The field of building science seeks to solve these problems by collecting knowledge about how buildings function and by developing better techniques for building construction. The discipline draws on physics, chemistry, engineering, architecture and the life sciences to understand how buildings interact. Its tools include controlled and randomized experiments, physical measurements, computer simulations, remote sensing, and analytical methods.
Building science researchers also use methods from the social and behavioral sciences, such as case study, interviews & focus groups, surveys and experience sampling, to collect qualitative data about occupant satisfaction, comfort, and experiences that may not be captured by measurement devices.
The research of building scientists provides a foundation for design engineers to develop high-performance buildings. These innovative structures are healthier, safer, more comfortable, energy-efficient and have a lower impact on the environment. Building scientists work for architects, design professionals, builders, product manufacturers and other industry leaders to create new construction techniques and technologies as well as find ways to repair and enhance existing buildings.